Today we face a climate of ever increasing misdirection by popular media. This site, along with others, aims to reveal the reality of America and the loss of fact inherent to the over riding theme of our current political and social confusion: Purposeful deception.

Friday, October 7, 2011

To Serve and Protect; America’s Institutional Fallacy

Those who today believe they
are being sold out by Capitalistic Globalism, protected and served by a growing
police state acting under the direction of our government are standing up to
say, “No More!” They are tired of their jobs being shipped to other
nations, their “representatives” serving financial contributors only and the
poisoned rhetoric of corporatism infecting every speech and policy enacted by
our currently inept government. Across this country, more and more people
are standing up to have their voices heard and their demands for the
resurrection of this once great nation, met. Unfortunately, these voices are
being answered with the echoes of police brutality and media defamation trying to
quell their collective desire for change.

Currently, the most powerful
of these voices is Occupy Wall Street. Contrary to counter opinions from
"popular" media, OWS is not a movement by Marxists and communists
trying to take over America,
a political march promoting President Obama’s agenda nor is it a meaningless
protest by society’s pot heads and left over hippies from the 60’s. It is
a meaningful commentary on the current and exponentially growing differential
between our AmericanRepublic the way it was designed to
be, and Corporatism. The line separating the two is evidenced by the
police presence discouraging the movement, the violent tactics employed by them
and the news outlets either condemning this American reality or downplaying it by
stating it is a movement without a clear purpose.

The police actions and the
legislators and judges who enable them to enact such mistreatment and
defamation of We the People as seen in Zuccotti Park, New York,
delineates a greater ill in our society which many of the citizens in this
nation are coming to recognize and speak out against.
The protesters of OWS have gathered in numbers large enough to show
solidarity in their purpose and represent a major cross section of our
population that cannot be ignored. Still though, the police arrest and
harass these people in an effort to control them but it is only breeding more
protests of the like, nationwide. The question is how our freedom of
speech and assembly have both been so judiciously and legislatively quashed and
how these "officers of the law" can so easily continue their assault
on our right to assembly when they have sworn oaths to protect and serve We the
People.

To Serve and Protect

We see it emblazoned on
Police cruisers and politicians and judges swear oaths to it with hand on
Bible: To Serve and Protect is more than a catch phrase, it is a promise to
those who put them in their place of power and pay out of their own hard work,
the labor entailed in its performance. It seems of late though, that the
same people who only have power because We have given it to them, are abusing
and misusing their posts to bring about a new structure of governing
contradictory to the very essence of this great nation.

At one time, “To Serve and
Protect” was the mantra of the Los
Angeles police department and it eventually
trickled into other departments nationwide. Many police officers took
pride in this charter and citizens most often could count on them to do
so. Now though, one has to wonder to whom these services are being
rendered and how it became acceptable by our government local, State and
Federal to employ aggressive and even abusive tactics seen against the
OWS protesters in this, our "free" Republic of the United States.

This term first came about
in 1955, (when) a contest was announced in the Los Angeles Police Department's
internal magazine, BEAT. The contest involved devising a motto for the Los AngelesPoliceAcademy.
The motto needed to be something that would succinctly express the ideals to
which those who serve as Los Angeles Police Officers became dedicated. The
winning entry for the phrase was submitted by Officer Joseph S. Dorobek and
served as the LAPD academy's motto until by City Council action, it became the
official motto of the entire Los Angeles Police Department in 1963. It
continues to appear on the Department's patrol cars as a symbol of commitment
to service.

This phrase which is emblazoned on LAPD patrol cars city wide has become one of
the most recognizable phrases in law enforcement. Throughout its almost 50
years of use, it has come to embody the spirit, dedication, and professionalism
of the Officers of the Los Angeles Police Department. (Excerpt from theLAPD site.) I wonder
if Rodney King felt he was being served and protected in 1991 when he was
brutally beaten by LAPD officers, an act which incited the 1992, Los Angeles
Riots.

Likewise, the motto of the
New York Police Department is Fidelis ad Mortem: (Faithful until Death) and
until recently, members of the NYPD were frequently referred to by the
nickname; New York's
Finest.In light of recent events in the City one has to
wonder to whom exactly they are faithful and what is it they have become the
finest of? Certainly, the violent and the inappropriate acts perpetrated by
these “fine” officers in New York against
the protesters of OWS, is anything but. If truth be told
though, they are just an arm of our government, acting under their
jurisdiction, direction and empowerment of the laws and codes of
their legislative (mis)conduct.

Likewise, the oath to
Federal Office is as follows:

I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental
reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully
discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help
me God.

The last bit was added to
the great chagrin of many in this nation especially since the oath
swears to uphold the Constitution where it clearly states Article 6, at the end
of the third clause:

[N]o religious Test shall
ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Congressional contradictions
are bountiful, indeed. The very oath they take before entering office opens the
door for ignoring our Constitution so why stop there in the years they
"serve" We the People?

Are we protected and served when our jobs are taken; our homes, our futures,
and yes, even our civil rights? Are we protected and served when police
officers spray in the face, a group of seemingly peaceful women corralled in a
plastic construction fence? Are we protected and served when our taxes
and our safety is exported to foreign lands and used for murderous deeds the
likes of which only Heinrich Luitpold Himmler could ever have imagined? Possibly
but they are working daily to correct that particular oversight.

The end of service and
protection

The police actions and the
legislators and judges who enable them to enact such mistreatment of We the
People, delineates a greater ill in our society which many of the citizens in
this nation are coming to recognize and speak out against. With each
arrest and unwarranted attack, these people justify the actions of Occupy Wall
Street and further enrages the contempt toward this broken, American system.
Even though the
First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right
to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference,
actions are being taken to counter act it. Many policies in our nation's
congressional history have served this purpose but three particular ones stand
out above the rest.

The Patriot Act, was
the most recent attack on these Liberties but history is rife with similar
restrictions of which, most Americans are ignorant of. It is with these
restrictions imposed by our government in all its forms, which are being
enforced by the NYPD and so many other police departments across our fading
empire. As pointed out by the Bill of Rights Defense Committee,
"The USA PATRIOT Act threatens freedom of speech from many different
angles. There are three sections of the Patriot Act that are threatening to
free speech in particular: section 802, which defines “domestic
terrorism”; section 805, which defines “material support”;
and section 215, which deals with surveillance. These sections also
threaten freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of
religion."

In another article found
on HubPages,
“Is Speech
Really Free?” points out that the Constitution does not guarantee free
speech but rather, prohibits Congress from imposing laws to abridge freedom of
speech. The vaguity of this Amendment gave rise to two separate Sedition
Acts. The first in 1798 was initiated by John Adams while the second was
passed in 1918. Unbelievably, these Acts were brought into Law a mere
twenty years after the Constitution was ratified. Is it any wonder how so
many who call out to return to the time of our founding fathers can so easily
support Constitutional manipulation.

In a much older action
directly ignoring the Constitutional protection of our rights, the 1798
Sedition Act was a response to the threat of a war with France and
included “four laws in an effort to strengthen the Federal government. Known
collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts, the legislation sponsored by the
Federalists was also intended to quell any political opposition from the
Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson.” In essence, this Act prohibited public
opposition to the government. Fines and imprisonment could be used against
those who "write, print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous and
malicious writing" against the government.

Acting in kind, the1918
Sedition Act extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader
range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the
government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of
government bonds." It was amended by Congress the following year to
not only target those who interfered with the draft, but also those individuals
guilty of sedition, in other words; those who publicly criticized the
government — including negative comments about the flag, military or Constitution (text).

Soon after 9/11, paranoia
gripped our nation and fear propaganda delivered by those who would profit most
from war and heightened security policies, “free speech zones” were delineated
for any protests and marches. These zones are established to
enable protesters to speak their minds but to not pose a threat to
areas where national security may be threatened. Unfair and
unconstitutional you may say, but not so fast: As Julie Hilden points out
in her article, “The
constitutionality of police-imposed 'free-speech zones'”, the “First
Amendment rule is that you don't have a right to a "captive audience"
…But occasionally, the Supreme Court has recognized a right to preach even
to a captive audience”.

After the 9/11 incidences,
which propelled this Nation into the sinking ship of xenophobic,
psuedo-patriotic whirlpool, the Patriot Act produced legislation which shadowed
these previous “Patriotic” laws but without the outward transparency of its forbearers’
desires to silence the People. The national protectionism which
accompanied this free-for-all detriment to free speech has been seen every time
a person speaks out against our nation’s immoral wars, corporate enablement or
any other voicing of dissent from We the People.

The New York Police
Department in particular, in the aftermath of that tragic day, formed a counter terrorism bureau whose
soul purpose was to avoid another attack on the City. Part of the police
reaction to the protests in New
York is tied to this effort. Police in the
City corralled protesters; pepper sprayed them and arrested hundreds of others
on the BrooklynBridge. The rationale for these
actions could be tied to this counter terrorist goal in that the protesters
represented a danger to the City’s security in that the disturbance could
distract police from their main duties. The control and silencing of the people
in New York and
across this nation embarking upon similar quests are being treated similarly
without regard for their civil liberties under the banner of practices under
the patriot Act, National Security Act but hidden with crimes cited such as
inciting a riot, blocking the right of way or soliciting.

Protesters across America decry
as I do, the police force quelling the protests in this manner. Many of those
who have been arrested and those watching these unAmerican events unfold cite
that our freedom of speech is being undone. The Sedition Acts could easily
be brought into action and all could be arrested accordingly. The main
issue though, is whether these police officers have been ordered to take this
action against the People and whether they are now protecting and serving We
the People or the corporatists who are now in control of our government.

Our institutional fallacy
must end

Occupy Wall Street has taken
this country to the point of revolution. The people are finally standing
up against an unjust, self-serving system of governance which has forgotten who
put them in power to begin with. One can only hope the protesters and
many like them across this nation suffering for the result of this blatant
disregard for our personal and financial security, will show the same passion
in protesting the corporations not only on Wall Street but across this nation,
which have taken our jobs through boycotting any products and services sold by
these pirates.

As it has been reported by
the New
York Times, “a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Adam
Sarzen, a decade or so older than many of the protesters, came to Zuccotti Park
seemingly just to shake his head. “Look at these kids, sitting here with their
Apple computers,” he said. “Apple, one of the biggest monopolies in the
world…trades at $400 a share. Do they even know that?””

To add to the broker’s
words…Do these people even know that their laptops represent the worst part of
supply and demand in this country: That economic principle which has enabled
our jobs to leave for cheaper labor abroad? Do they know that every piece
of non-American product they consume takes us further from the result they
want: The end of America's
quest for globalism and the revitalization of our economy? I wonder if
they will they expend the same effort of only buying America products
to bring our jobs back as they have in this march against Wall Street.

Another target which would
serve the American people as well is a protest against corporate, mass
media. These people have en masse stuck to a formula which has been
designed to serve only to sell a product which enables their sponsors.
The media system sells their politically ideological brands as well as
useless products both of which, we can well do without. With the violent
rhetoric of anti-Unionist slander, anti-socialist principles and in essence,
anti-citizen protective policy, they have joined the deception by offering
mellow tones of distraction rather than reporting on what America’s war machine
is really doing overseas; how Congress is producing nothing to help our
economic struggles of the middle and lower class citizens and ignoring the
blatant truths of the worst struggles in America since the early part of the 20th Century.

We must all accept though,
that Wall Street isn’t the only power of greed responsible for our current
debacle. It represents capitalism and capitalists will do what they can
to garner profit. Most operate with an understanding of ethics while
others only do so because they have to under Governmental restrictions or
moral/ethical restrictions. When the restrictions are lifted however, many of
these entities with great fortunes to be made, will succumb to the temptation
and take advantage. It is our government which has enabled these
corporatists by lifting restrictions; our government that is setting dissenters
into “free speech zones” else pay the price of imprisonment and our government,
operating with the monies of capitalists, who are allowing the state of our
nation to degrade.

As an example of this
infiltration of corporatism into our system is shown in the New York Police
Department, apparently for want of funding to continue their
"service" to the people, accepting payments from Wall Street firm: JPMorgan
Chase & Co. This Fortune 500 company recently "donated
an unprecedented $4.6 million to the New York City Police Foundation".
The department was allowed to take these bribes, I mean “contributions”
not only because funding has been cut in many areas to combat bloated State and
Federal budgets but because government oversight itself has shifted from
protecting to controlling, We the People. Again, Wall Street represents
an obligation to investors to make money; they are acting within their
character. It is the government’s job to protect the people from excessive
and abusive practices of corporations. Why then has this practice of
gathering funding from corporate America not being stopped?

Funding for domestic
programs and our services are being drastically cut to combat the debt accrued
by a government which has grown too large to support itself. The doors of
opportunity then have opened for those with money to come in, take control and
profit as a result. In this manner, corporatists have been able to pay
for a private security force paid for largely by taxpayers for pennies on the
dollar. Many of the officers performing the arrests may have lost their
jobs otherwise so a certain amount of dedication to them. All one has to
do is examine the growing market for private,
corporate run prisons to see this unfolding.

The days of American
industry are over and with it millions of our jobs. Unless We the People
in our protests against the systematic destruction of our Liberty aim our
protests at all who are responsible for enabling the destruction of our
nation and move toward stopping the madness of free trade and the corrupt
government enabling corporations to control our nation, we will continue to
lose their jobs, our rights and will continue be arrested for protesting as
well as suppressed from speaking against the wrongs committed against us and
yes, unemployed; more and more of us each day.

The end result

Wall Street presently
represents Capitalist greed growing unchecked. It is because our government
allows it to be that way. The unfair practices and procedures enveloped
by our government, now largely controlled by special interests, are moving
toward enacting more laws and policies to better serve their corporate supporters
rather than us, hardworking Americans. Though profit is the goal of
business in a free market society, when their profit comes at a life destroying
cost to the people, the Declaration of Independence’s premise of “Life, Liberty
and the Pursuit of Happiness” given to all men and women within that society,
quickly diminishes. The Seditions Acts, The Patriot Act and other
policies passed throughout our American history serve only to keep free speech
imprisoned. These were largely brought by xenophobic insecurity but most
recently, they are caused by greed, plain and simple.

To this humble writer, the
issue is not so simple as to fit conveniently into the neat little image given
by media moguls and their talking heads of a protest filled with disgruntled
employees, people who fell into the crevice of throw away middle management or
neo-socialists and marxists with nothing better to do with their day since
their unemployment compensation expired: It has to do with a society that has
had enough with the status quo and are not going to keep their heads in the
sand, anymore.

To the protestors on Wall
Street I say, good show. I greatly admire your fortitude, your dedication
to a cause and your decision that being arrested doesn’t latter if you have no
future. To the rest of you, I can only emphatically say; It is time to get off your
ass and take back our country. It is time the people enact our right to
throw off a tyrannic system are reform this great nation. We need to keep
our march moving and growing to throw out these criminals; these people who
have taken the oath to Serve and Protect us but instead, are taking this
country into the Land of missed and forgotten opportunity.

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